TOPIC: How to remove staining on paintwork from plane trees

Mike, been there done that and nothing gets those little brown stains off the paintwork without taking the paint off too! Time over winter however did - although not from our new sun parasol that remains heavily stained from just a few hours exposure under plane trees in August on the Garonne.

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Hi mike,
You can get online at Amazon or from most automotive retailers like halfords. They are about £12 each and you would be able to do your barge numerous times depending on contaminant. It also works on glass removing the scaling you get on rear car windows with ease but the best thing is no chemicals.

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Hi,
Have you tried a clay bar or a clay mitt? These are what are used in the automotive / bodyshop industry. None of these products use chemicals just water. They both remove all contaminants from paintwork with minimal effort. They will remove fallout ( rust ) paint overspray, bugs and a whole host of other contaminants. The clay mitt is the easiest to use and the one I use is made by farecla but there are others on the market. One mitt will last ages. I’ll attach a picture.
Steve

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Thanks for all the advice. Nothing works without elbow grease and a green sponge/plastic scrubber. I’m thinking of offering slimming holidays to people wanting scrubbing exercises on a hot 30m deck. Ship Clean mostly works although I’ve nearly run out and can’t find a supplier near Briare. Cream cleaner works similarly. WD40 isn’t so successful. Neither is white spirit or vinegar. I have sanded and primed the wheelhouse roof and still the speckles show through. It should look a bit better after a few gin and tonics. Onwards, upwards and backwards.

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I agree with Stewart. I had the same problem whilst on the Garonne. Tried many many different concoctions - all to no avail or with limited success. But found the sun bleached out many and the remaining light staining disappeared over winter.
Although I've not tried it on Plane tree spotting I have found very good results on stubborn stains using Fenicks Motorhome cleaner from Halfords. Pink stuff. Much cheaper than the dedicated marine cleaners. Although I now see they don't sell it and are selling Fenicks Caravan Cleaner. Probably much the same thing. Bon Chance

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We had a bad attack last year on the Canal de Garonne with a bright white top turned to porridge in two days flat. Tried all sorts to shift it without success, though the locals all said not to worry because it would disappear over the winter.

Parked up in Castelnaudary in September and returned in April - to a perfectly white top again, with no sign of it re-occuring as of yet.

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Dr Google suggests vinegar or denatured alcohol ( raid the gin locker). However the stain may have migrated dealer into the paint structure so surface treatments are not so effective and require buffing out.
I wonder if the stains will be bleached by the sun reasonably quickly?

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Sorry Chris (and thanks) I meant to say I had used ShipClean (I just couldn't remember its name since I had to decant it some time ago into an unmarked plastic bottle.) It's normally infallible, but isn't doing so well with plane tree residue.

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ShipCleam from Americol is the only answer Mike. All the pros use it. Can get it at most good chandlers but not sure in France. For rust and otherbrown stain use Roka but make sure to rinse away after 4 mins with lots of water. Bon chance.

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We left our barge for three weeks under plane trees near Briare and have returned to find the paintwork (much of it newly done) spotted in brown. We have tried deck clean, (or is it DeckClear?) diluted and undiluted, WD40, white vinegar, elbow grease, etc, but with only limited success. Does anyone have a magic ingredient that will remove this brown spotting, that has covered our 30m barge?

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